On July 10, China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) held a press conference and released key immigration management data for the first half of 2026.
In H1 2026, immigration authorities nationwide inspected 369 million inbound and outbound passenger trips, a 10.8% year-on-year increase and an all-time high. The total included 176 million trips by mainland Chinese residents, 147 million by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents, and 45.906 million by foreign nationals, up by 10.7%, 8.1% and 20.6% year-on-year respectively.
Foreign nationals made 22.914 million inbound trips, up 20.4% year-on-year, reflecting robust growth in international arrivals. Of these, 17.815 million were visa-free entries, accounting for 77.7% of all foreign arrivals and representing a year-on-year rise of 30.6%.
The top 10 source countries for foreign arrivals are South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia and Australia, collectively contributing 62% of all foreign entries.
During the first half of the year, immigration authorities inspected 20.844 million inbound and outbound movements of aircraft, trains, vessels and motor vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 17.1%. These included 490,000 aircraft movements (+1%), 56,000 train movements (+5.7%), 229,000 vessel movements (+4.6%) and 20.068 million motor vehicle crossings (+17.8%).
During the same period, China issued 10.392 million ordinary passports, 49.585 million travel permits and endorsements for mainland residents traveling to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and 1.104 million Mainland Travel Permits for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents. Authorities also issued 991,000 visas and other immigration documents to foreign nationals.
The NIA’s government service platform provided 118 million online services, including information inquiries, to Chinese and foreign travelers. It also provided 34.54 million free identity verification services to residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese and foreign nationals. The NIA’s 12367 service hotline handled 3.68 million inquiries from Chinese and foreign nationals across more than 100 countries and regions, achieving an average user satisfaction rate of 99%.
